Design

Setting

A home health service in a geriatric assessment and rehabilitation hospital in New Zealand.

Participants

240 people who were ≥75 years of age (mean age 81 y, 68% women) and were living in their own homes. Exclusion criteria were
inability to walk around their own residence, current receipt of physiotherapy, or inability to understand the study. 88%
of participants completed 1 year of follow up.

Intervention

121 participants were allocated to a home based exercise programme run by a district nurse. The programme was implemented
as part of the nurse's usual work and included muscle strengthening and balance retraining exercises of increasing difficulty
and a walking programme. …